of the granite state citizens have and a lot of people of talentandenergy. weneed everybody to participate. if that is how we can proceed, i think we will be better off two years from now. >> i would echo that. my ultimate goal is equal opportunity for all and part of that is general -- is gender- related. i want to give out a shout out to private employers who can do better. i was very fortunate to work part time. most people did not know that. i worked four days a week. how was the first part time law partner in the state and my colleagues -- i was the first part time law partner in the state and my colleagues were great. the had to lock myself in a closet for a conference call. my kids were out playing. and the client asked for their children there? yes, my office is next to that christian school. that was true. i just was not in the office at the time. [laughter] but now we are more open about it. we all need to take responsibility. even as i am negotiating with my staff, you can get really great talent if you give them a little bit of flexibility. just let them pick up that 5:15. they

commissions or other groups, you mentionedtheenergyairforce base. during the reagan administration, a great big commission that found a solution for social security, these were big public fora where discussions were held with the public and now everything seems to be happening behind closed doors. why could openness happened in years past and today we can not seem to get to deal? >> in large measure because the media has so changed. in those days, you did not have 24-hour coverage. what you find with 24-hour coverage if an idea services, at -- surfaces, at 10:00 a.m., it is dead by 2:00 p.m. because everybody goes to the cameras. the cameras are there. ever-present and wanting to hype something. before you debate it is dead. you really see that around here. >> there has been a fair bit of criticism of the president for not embracing the findings of that commission. what is your take? >> i advised the president not to embrace the specifics because i feared if he did, house republicans would automatically be in opposition. if you are part of the bowles- simpson commission you saw

need to do is spend our effortsandenergyintrying to achieve a plan that will carry us forward. i still am optimistic we can do that. i'm hopeful that we will do it. if we don't do it in the next several weeks before the new year, i hope it is done immediately there after. i think it would be better for the country and economy and people's confidence in the act of this country to make decisions and govern wisely if we were able to make an agreement before the end of the year. and that is still possible despite the u turn from the speaker yesterday. i hope that the discussions continue and prove conclusive. with that i want to thank you for this opportunity and i'll be happy to answer questions people might have. >> we will take questions. the questions will be first from members of the media and national press club members and then if no hands are raised after that we will go to others. >> senator i want to tie some things together in terms of your great, informative powerful knowledge based so speech and ask a question that brings us into focus given current continue verse sis. y

that the departmentofenergyorthe department of education and the number of employees they have. we do not need all that. they can cut the number of employees in half and we would have real savings. nobody will address these issues. i'll hang up. guest: when you have a budget in washington, it is hard to cut back politically. if you do, people say you are against the were the goal. this worthy goal, that worthy goal. there was a british historian in the 1950's. after world war i, britain had the largest navy in the world and they reduced the size of the navy. the laid-off sailors and dock workers. the agency running the navy was getting bigger as the navy was getting smaller. he made the discovery -- the size of a bureaucracy has nothing to do with the amount of work the bureaucracy does. it will grow unless it is reined in. the bureaucracy was getting bigger. if you get that kind of bloat, get in trouble and you change or go out of business. ronald reagan said the closest thing to immortality is a government agency. caller: good morning, everybody. do you think capitalism and privatizing is withdr

, after september 11, the diversion, and the distraction of the nation's concernandenergyintoiraq was unpardonable. i felt what -- it was inept and corrupt and opaque. those were tough years for me. i was motivated to see barack obama, sort of a surprise, really. i could not believe we had gotten such a real person, to make it through the filter system of our politics. it meant a lot to me. i know it would have meant a huge amount to my father. i think of him often. so, again, in 2012, kim and i went on the road for obama. we did about three dozen events. it restored my faith in the country, to meet these people who had committed themselves to this reelection campaign. it was the largest grass-roots event we have ever seen in this country. the people involved were fundamentally such good people, i felt. it really meant a lot to me to be involved in an. they were smart, too. they did it really well. they were committed to this mission and they really carried it out beautifully. i should say also that although i am a relentless democrats, i do believe that a dialogue between a reaso

felt i had to be there every day to observe ronald reagan. i was still coveringtheenergycrisisand three mile island and other things. >> on tv news, there is so much attention to what women on tv where and what they look like. is that still true? >> there was an article. >> i saw that article. >> there was a story recently about what women anchors are wearing. it was only about women. >> it seemed a little silly. i think the exciting thing is we're covering major beats, we have women in very important roles. we now have women executive producers. s runningice president group the broadcasts and making decisions. >> you do not feel that women get promoted on tv for looks? >> i am sure in some cases, yes. my experience has been in more than 34 years with nbc news and before that i was at 10 and 9, and was recruited from philadelphia to come here by them. had two very happy years there. nobody has ever said to me -- maybe once i was wearing something with polka dots. i thought i looked very chic. in my ear, i heard the producers say if you ever wear that again, i will murder you o

: this follow-up -- if you are poor, you'd have to spend a lotofenergytoget enough to beat. john, connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. i was calling to mention low- quality food and the cost of health care, but you covered well. do you think it would be more beneficial if they start doing a local farming program where they could start growing vegetables? maybe have some land with tiles and chickens, and local people could work on the farming areas and return the food to the communities as opposed to being so reliant on high-salt diets, the foods we would coin as having a long shelf life, leaving it on the shelf for six months without going bad? has the government been able to look into those programs, considering the finances involved in the program as a whole? host: thank you. a related topic -- the availability of this fresh produce is a big distraction for many. guest: there are some programs that speak directly to the point, one our farms-to-school programs, directed to help know where food is coming from and getting fresher food into the schools. in addition, we